Brown Britain's best hope in great silver run

Friday 16 September 2005 20.56 EDT
First published on Friday 16 September 2005 20.56 EDT

The Great North Run, the world's biggest half-marathon, celebrates its silver jubilee tomorrow with a massive party for 50,000 runners. Brendan Foster's idea for a race from Newcastle to South Shields, conceived during a training trip to New Zealand when he was preparing for the 1980 Olympics, has bloomed spectacularly in the past 25 years.

In 1981 11,000 runners started the event which attracted little media interest beyond the north-east. It now has more competitors than the London Marathon and this year there will be three hours of live television coverage on BBC.

The Great North Run, along with the London Marathon, has helped fuel another jogging boom, with running now ranked highly among the most popular recreational sports in the country. Unfortunately for UK Athletics, while more people than ever may be running, the standard of Britain's elite competitors has never been lower.

The race celebrates another anniversary tomorrow: it is 20 years since a British man, Steve Kenyon, won, crossing the line in 62min 44sec.

Sheffield's Jon Brown, fourth in the 2000 and 2004 Olympic marathons, is probably Britain's only realistic hope this year in a race where South Africa's Hendrick Ramaala will be the favourite as he chases a hat-trick of victories.

With Paula Radcliffe recovering from winning the world championship marathon, there is even less chance of a home victory in the women's race where it is predicted to be a similar tale of African dominance. The women's field includes Catherine Ndereba, silver medallist behind Radcliffe in Helsinki, but the Kenyan will have her work cut out against the Ethiopians Derartu Tulu, Berhane Adere and Werknesh Kidane.

Kenyon, now 54, believes Britain's lack of depth is the root of the problem. "When I was competing you could roll off names such as Brendan Foster, Dave Bedford, Bernie Ford, Dave Black, Mike McLeod, Nick Rose - the list goes on," he said.

Brown, with Radcliffe, has shown that the correct preparation makes it possible for British runners to compete with the Africans. A willingness to listen and learn have been the reasons for his success.

"I learned a hell of a lot by spending the time talking to the older athletes when I was in my early twenties, just by comparing our different training experiences," he said. "Now I just don't think younger athletes have the opportunity to learn from established stars, partly because we have had so few good distance runners in the last 10 years."

Foster may have failed in one of his main aims - to help raise the standard of British distance running - but that will not stop him enjoying the party.